


When the Night Ends

by reidrights



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Bisexual Jennifer "JJ" Jareau, F/F, Fluff, Jemily - Freeform, Lesbian Emily Prentiss, Romantic Soulmates, Soulmates, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-29
Updated: 2020-09-29
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:08:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,813
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26706505
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reidrights/pseuds/reidrights
Summary: There’s an old saying that the act of meeting your soulmate was 500 years in the making. I don’t recall who said it; it’s probably something I picked up from one of the ambassadors I met.
Relationships: JEmily, Jennifer "JJ" Jareau/Emily Prentiss
Comments: 1
Kudos: 49





	When the Night Ends

_We held hands in the summer rain, the langour sliding off the place our hearts conjoined. I shouldn’t say we – more her, laughing as the droplets doused her hair. I was never with her, only reliving it as if we were together. It was a happy memory, and how I wished to remember it after the night was over. Yet without fail, I felt her grasp slip from my rapt fingers and the ghost of her smile disappear into the corridor of dreams._

_I wish I could describe how she looked. I wish I remembered. All those years at stiff evening soirees, tracing names to faces I saw only once an ambassadorial success, and yet hers eluded mine without fail. The only thing I remember was that she was beautiful, and I wanted to remember her beyond the dimly lit creations of my unconsciousness. I knew I could never, but I tried anyway._

_There’s an old saying that the act of meeting your soulmate was 500 years in the making. I don’t recall who said it; it’s probably something I picked up from one of the ambassadors I met. For most people, they’re fifteen when they meet their soulmates. Maybe they had done their waiting in past lifetimes. For others, it’s more like thirty, forty, or those rare people who never meet them. I’m almost twenty, and I still have no idea who mine is. I’ve known her since the night I could first have vivid dreams, yet she’s a stranger in the daytime._

_Now I relive a memory of hers each night, anticipating the day we’ll meet. The day an inexplicable knowing will wash over us, and we’ll be drawn to the place where we’ll, at last, feel enlightened with love in our hearts. There’d been false alarms and times I’d pretended to feel that compelling force in order to escape my mother’s stuffy gatherings. There’d been times where I, weary with the weight of life, had willed myself to sleep so I could see her again. Most times I saw nothing unless it was truly the dead of night, when I was asleep beyond the point of wishful thinking._

_It’s late now. I have my first law-and-ethics seminar tomorrow. I doubt I’ll see her there, but I won’t give up my search empty-handed._

She chews on the end of her pencil, a habit her mother had tried and failed to smother. But she, Emily Prentiss, _wasn’t_ her mother. Could never be her mother. The second Ambassador Prentiss went abroad, she’d cropped her hair and traded her prestigious pre-med major for criminal justice. If she was to go to this godforsaken school, she would do it on her own terms.

Before she realizes it, her eyes lull shut, head tucked, arms half-splayed across her desk.

_JJ_ , Emily beams, rushing up to her. She wraps Emily up in those phantom arms of hers. _What’s up?_

_I_ _had a soccer game today. Want to watch?_ And of course Emily nods, led to the front of the bleachers in a center spot left just for her. She reclines, kicking out her legs in front of her while JJ ruffles her hair and presses a sweet kiss to her forehead. No one notices; of course, Emily’s not really there – but in an alternate dream-world where she can relive JJ’s memories and learn who her soulmate is.

_The game’s starting,_ says JJ, running in place for good measure. _I’d better warm up._ She races back to where her team are, already stretcing, yet they pay no mind to her initial absence. The air about her seems to shimmer as she takes her place, as dream-JJ melds in real-life JJ. At this point, Emily knows, JJ can no longer see or hear her. Not until the core parts of the memory end.

None of the crowd cheer as loud as Emily does. Their hearts don’t burst with joy when JJ scores a perfect goal, precise, powerful kicks meeting their mark. They don’t stare when Emily feels tears brim at her eyes, when she feels she could scream out her affections at her lover’s flawless technique or the determination she shows in every swift movement. JJ’s team is losing as the second period approaches, but Emily hardly notices. She’s enamored – _wholly, truly_ – by JJ. Then the opposing team’s coach calls for a time-out, and dream-JJ returns, sweaty and smiling, back to Emily.

_It’s a close game, but just wait to see what happens,_ she enthuses, glancing back at her team. _You won’t believe it_.

And Emily doesn’t. Goal after goal is scored by the opposing team, JJ’s team members barely able to keep up with the ruthless offense. Her coach calls for a time-out, and this time, dream-JJ doesn’t re-emerge. Instead, alight with vigor, she returns to the field. Slowly, but surely enough, her team rebounds on their opponents.

All bets are off – the clock is waning to its last seconds, and JJ’s team is on the cusp of losing. Then, so swiftly that Emily and the other team’s defense alike fail to register it, JJ veers across the field, catching the subtle pass of the ball from her teammate and keeping close watch of it as she runs. With a jolt, the centre-back snaps into position, ready to block as JJ swings her leg back –

– _and it’s a goal!_ They’ve won, JJ’s won, and she’s smiling so hard that she can hardly keep a straight enough face to replenish with Gatorade. Dream-JJ races over to Emily, sweeping the latter into her arms for a bone-crushing hug. _We did it!_ She exclaims, but her voice starts to distort in Emily’s ears.

_It’s happening now, isn’t it?_ asks JJ, and Emily nods.

_I wish I could spend more time with you,_ she sighs, clutching tighter to JJ’s fading frame. _I’ve missed you_.

_Don’t worry, babe,_ replies JJ. _We’ll meet soon. I just have a feeling that we will._ With a final wink that shoots adrenaline down her spine, Emily jolts awake.

If her yapping clock was any indication, she was officially late for class. Shoving on a respectable outfit, Emily rushes out her dorm, down the winding streets, through the Prior Building and into an empty seat near the back. The professor merely raises an eyebrow, never once pausing their lecture. As luck has it, she has no idea what’s going on until her professor announces it’s time to partner up for a group project. Everyone groans internally, turning to the person by their side.

“Hey,” says a crystalline voice, tapping Emily on the shoulder. “Want to be partners?” She cranes her around to the sight of a thousand memories rushing back at once. She remembers, every little bit from when her soulmate had gotten her first teddy bear to her first state championship and every little memory in between. JJ's excitement is hers, her pain, and there’s this indescribable peace as when long-lost lovers meet again.

_“JJ,”_ she breathes.

_“Emily.”_

They’re lost in their own world, where dream and reality coalesce into one.

“I guess we’ll _really_ be partners now, won’t we?” jokes Emily. JJ laughs.

“I hope so. For now, we have to finish this project,” says JJ with a disapproving tone. Emily can’t help but laugh at her words. “Don’t worry, I’m pretty good with deadlines.”

“ _Yeah_ , like the time you completed your finals essay the night before, last year. Wait,” continues JJ with a light-hearted, pensive look to her eye, “not just freshman year. Every time before that, all the way up to –”

“– _alright_ , alright,” concedes Emily. “So I may have a problem. But, I’m sure that together, we can get work done.” JJ tilts her head, nods, and plants her hands on the edge of her desk.

“We should get started, then.”

Emily’s right – they’re an unstoppable duo. Neither of them even notice that class has ended until the rest of their classmates and the professor have trickled out, leaving the two of them to an empty room.

“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

“Emily, _no_ –”

“Hello,” says Emily, adopting that quasi-senatorial voice she’d inherited from those political events. She taps on the microphone, flashing a wicked smile at JJ. “My name is Emily Prentiss, and I’d like to introduce myself.”

“Shut up,” grumbles JJ, hopping down towards the podium. “We’re going to get in _huge_ trouble if you keep going.”

“So?”

“So, we can continue talking later. Maybe a date tonight, if I get your number.” Emily grins, a conniving thought creeping to the front of her mind.

“Woo me, Jennifer Jareau. Show me why I should give you the gift of dating me.” JJ rolls her eyes, unable to stop the smile from toying at her lips.

“Dance with me, моя любовь,” she whispers in Emily’s ear, dipping her head into the crook of Emily’s shoulder and swaying, hands interlaced, to the rhythm of their hearts.

“I didn’t know you spoke Russian,” murmurs Emily in response.

“I learned, just for you.” JJ draws Emily flush against her, drinking in their closeness, no longer a mere memory. “So when I met you, we could speak in multiple languages of love.”

“I’m touched,” says Emily, “but can we switch up the beat?”

“Emily Prentiss, there is no way you’re going to convince me to grind against you in the middle of a lecture hall. Not a chance.”

“You did it at your graduation party,” points out Emily, “with that hot new kid – what was his name? – _Will LaMontague Junior_ , Louisiana born-and-raised. He couldn’t handle all that woman. Poor guy was flustered out of his mind.”

JJ blushes. “I’m really questioning who decided it was good idea to create this whole learning-about-your-soulmate-through-memories thing. This is just nineteen years of blackmail material at each other’s fingertips.”

“Oh, I’m just getting started.” The sound of approaching footsteps cause the two of them to freeze, before the steps taper off in the opposite direction. “That was a close call,” laughs JJ. “We’d better go, though. I have another class in –” she glances at her watch, “– three minutes, I really have to go!” She races back to her spot, shoving her belongings together and heading for the door.

“Wait!” calls Emily. “You’ve wooed me. Now I want your number.”

“You’ll have to find out for yourself, then. Vasley Building, third floor, room 593. See you tonight.” With a wink, JJ strides off.

Stunned, Emily lives through the rest of the day in a trance.

_I’ve met her_ , she writes late that night, after meeting JJ in her dorm. She stares at the messy scrawl above, unsure of how to continue. _I wish I could describe how she looked. I wish I remembered._ Beyond the unrealness of dreams, to truly see, hear, touch, and _know_ her. To be more than a product of destiny when the night ends.

Now she was.


End file.
